Editorial: Debt-ceiling accord is no cause for rejoicing

Under no circumstances should Congress get praise for agreeing to pay the country's bills, as it recently voted to do.

The country must pay its obligations and, unfortunately, raising the debt ceiling once again was required.

But with a national debt over $17.3 trillion - or more than $50,000 for every American - this is surely no cause for celebration. The best thing that can be said about the congressional action is that it avoids another stalemate, another showdown between Republicans and Democrats. And it continues a trend that has included a tentative agreement on a budget and passage of a massive farm bill. Political uncertainty, government shutdowns and impasses have hurt the country's economic recovery. So getting past another spat over the debt ceiling avoids another crisis.

But that's as good as it gets. The list of things Congress should accomplish and most likely won't during this election year is considerable. It includes strengthening gun-control laws and making sweeping changes to immigration policies. It includes revamping the nation's spy policies and vastly improving its energy strategies. It includes changing the tax code and, yes, lowering country's debt over time.

None of this is easy, especially when the actions include spending cuts.

Anytime Congress tries to make reductions - or even attempts to slow the growth of spending for any particular program - critics arise. Fortunately, merely raising the debt limit does not authorize new spending, but it also doesn't provide Congress with any incentive to make tough choices.

With many in Congress, including everyone in the House of Representatives, up for re-election in November, it's hard to imagine Democrats and Republicans coming together to make tough or complicated choices. Under such a scenario, though, federal spending could be reduced overall and entitlement programs contained, while revenues could be added by closing tax loopholes, especially to big oil and gas companies.

Instead, Congress is more than likely to pass "one-party bills" - measures that either most Republicans can agree with or Democrats can support, but not both. The country could use more heavy lifting from Congress but that takes compromise.

There have been rays of hope the last few months, but Congress has set the bar incredibly low. Ticking off a few more substantial successes would go a long way to showing the American people that progress can be made, even in the turbulent political climate that an election year brings.

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Editorial: Debt-ceiling accord is no cause for rejoicing

Under no circumstances should Congress get praise for agreeing to pay the country's bills, as it recently voted to do.